Building on the success of WiMAX trials worldwide, carriers are now rolling out full commercial deployments in cities as well as suburban and rural communities, allowing broadband wireless networks to reach locations where previously they were either impossible or too costly for carriers to pursue.

“As WiMAX gains momentum in full deployments, homes and businesses gain the ease and power of cost-effective wireless networking,” said Scott Richardson, general manager of Intel’s Broadband Wireless Division. “We are now delivering the promise of WiMAX – high-speed, cost-effective wireless broadband access – to businesses and consumers in cities and suburbs around the world.”

In collaboration with Intel, and using equipment based on the Intel PRO/Wireless 5116 broadband interface, commercial networks have now been deployed by the following carriers: Altitude Telecom* (France), AXTEL* (Mexico), BEC Telecom, S.A.* (Dominican Republic), Dedicado* (Uruguay), Globe/Innove* (Philippines), Iberbanda (Spain), Irish Broadband* (Ireland), SferaNET* (Poland), Mikkelin Puhelin Oyj* Â and Savonlinnan Puhelin Oy* (Finland), Telgua* (Guatemala), Ukrainian High Technologies* (Ukraine), and WiMAX Telecom* (Austria and Slovakia).

These deployments support a range of uses, from basic high-speed access for homes to Internet telephony, business connectivity and support for schools and government offices. For example:

• Voice over IP (VoIP) services are being offered by BEC Telecom beginning in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and spreading to the rest of the country, while WiMAX Telecom is offering VoIP services to home users in Burganland, Austria.
• Residential and small business users now have access to high-speed Internet, from AXTEL in Monterey, Mexico and Dedicado in Montevideo, Uruguay to Globe/Innove in Cavite, Philippines and Iberbanda in Andalusia and Catalonia, Spain.
• Schools and government offices can now benefit from cost-effective, high-speed access in areas including Dublin, Ireland, through a contract with Irish Broadband, and in southern Poland, where SferaNet is offering WiMAX services to public safety, local government offices and schools.

In addition, several carriers are in the process of deploying WiMAX networks that are expected to be up and running by the end of the year, including: Americatel Peru S.A.* (Peru), Call Plus* (New Zealand), Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd.* (Taiwan), DBD Deutsched Breitband Dienste GmbH* (Germany), Digicel* (Caribbean), Entel* (Chile), Ertach* (Argentina), Integrated Telecom Company* (Saudi Arabia), Next Mobile* (Philippines), and Taiwan Fixed Networks* (Taiwan) and VeloCom* (Argentina).

The new WiMAX networks will deliver broadband services to consumers, businesses, schools and public offices, using Intel-based customer premises equipment from Airspan*, Alcatel*, Alvarion* and Redline Communications*

These full deployments build upon growing momentum toward widespread WiMAX availability, including a pledge by the government of Taiwan to invest NT$37 billion [US$1.12 billion] on mobile initiatives, including WiMAX, and Intel’s Asian Broadband Campaign, an initiative in which Intel is working with governments, telecommunications regulators, education, health and agriculture public sector agencies and carriers to spur WiMAX development in Southeast Asia.

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